The number of prisoners increased to fourteen after Maria’s siblings arrived. As well as the seven family members, there was Dr. Botkin; Anna Demidova, her mother’s maid; Alexei Trupp, her father’s valet; Ivan Kharitonov, the cook; Klementy Nagorny, Alexei’s carer; Ivan Sednev, the footman; and his thirteen-year-old nephew, Leonid, who was the kitchen boy and a playmate of Alexei’s. There were only three bedrooms, so Alexei must share with his parents and Maria shared with her sisters, while Anna Demidova had her own room (a small, newly opened one) and Trupp, the two Sednevs, Botkin, Nagorny, and Kharitonov slept in cots in the hallway. The family’s three dogs ran freely around the upper floor, contributing to the crush by getting under everyone’s feet.

There was no space to store all their possessions in the rooms at their disposal, so Avdeyev ordered them to be put in a storeroom in the yard, but when Nicholas went to look for a fresh pipe, he found their trunks had been opened and several items pilfered.

“I must insist our possessions are returned immediately,” Maria heard him telling Avdeyev.

The commissar did not seem concerned, replying only, “I will look into it.”

Nagorny went to remonstrate with him, and the next thing they knew, both he and Sednev were removed from duty and dismissed from the house.

“It seems to me they are not necessary,” Avdeyev said to Nicholas, and none of their arguments could sway him.

Maria was glad that her mother and sisters had hidden their best jewels within the seams of their clothing, or else the Bolsheviks might have tried to steal them too. There were pearls in the boning of their bodices, jewels secreted between the lining and exterior of their hats, and diamonds covered with black silk and refashioned as buttons on gowns. Some garments were double-layered, with whole necklaces encased in wadding between the layers. It made them very heavy to wear, but if it helped to smuggle their jewelry out of Russia, to support them in exile, it was well worth the discomfort.

Within days of arriving, Tatiana had taken over as “boss” of the family. She was the one who went to Avdeyev’s office to complain that the camp beds for the girls had still not arrived, or that there was not enough hot water for their baths, or not enough cutlery to go around so they must share knives and spoons. She was fearless and her requests generally got results. Olga, the eldest, seemed sunk in depression and barely communicated with anyone, while Anastasia and Alexei lost themselves in childish games like dominoes, which Maria found dull. It was nice to have her family there, of course, but it did not relieve the boredom as much as she had hoped.